Treasures of The New York Public Library

Sacred Texts

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The Quraysh discuss the conversion of 72 Medinans.<br><br><br />
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<i>Siyar-i Nabī</i> [Life of the Prophet]. Turkish translation by Mustafā Zarīr (fl. 14th century) of the version by Abu'l-Hasan al-Bakrī al-Basrī (fl. 13th century) of the <i>Life of the Prophet</i> by Ibn Ishāq (fl. 9th century). Volume III. Copied in Istanbul for Sultan Murād III. Illuminated manuscript in ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on cream polished paper, 1594-95.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.<br><br><br />
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Sultan Murād's Life of the Prophet: A Supreme Masterpiece of Ottoman Art

Commissioned by Empress Catherine II, this Altar Gospels is a rare survivor of the Soviet campaign to strip such bindings of their finery, melt down the metal, and sell their enamels and precious and semiprecious stones for cash.<br><br><br />
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<i>Evangelie naprestol'noe</i> [Altar Gospels]. Moscow, 1791.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division.<br><br><br />
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A Dazzling Benefaction

Giulio Clovio. <i>The Nativity with the Adoration of the Shepherds</i>. Gospel of John, fol. 5v.<br><br><br />
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Gospel Lectionary (Towneley Lectionary). Illuminated manuscript on vellum; in Latin. Illuminated by Giulio Clovio and three unidentified artists. Rome, ca. 1550-60 (and possibly later).<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division.<br><br><br />
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Michelangelo in Miniature: The Towneley Lectionary

Important items relating to the black experience both in America and in Africa are housed not only in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, but throughout the Library. Here, from the Spencer Collection, the Library's magnificent collection of illustrated books and book bindings, is a 15th-century illuminated manuscript from Ethiopia, a beautiful example of Ge'ez, the literary and ecclesiastical language whose calligraphy is derived from South Semitic script.<br><br><br />
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<i>Gadla Estifanos e Abakerazun</i> [The Gospels of Stephen and Abakerazun]. Manuscript on vellum; in Ge'ez. Tigre, Ethiopia, 15th century. Illuminated at the monastery of Gundé Gundié.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.<br><br><br />
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The Gospels of Stephen and Abakerazun: A Beautiful Ethiopic Manuscript

Substantial parts of the Gutenberg Bible had been seen at Frankfurt as early as October 1454 by Aeneas Sylvius Piccolomini (he would become Pope Pius II in 1458), who in March 1455 wrote about what he had seen. He praised the very neat and clear letters to a fellow-cardinal at Rome, Juan de Carvajal, telling him how easy it was to read without eyeglasses, and mentioned that the entire production run had been fully subscribed.<br><br><br />
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Biblia Latina. [Mainz: Johann Gutenberg, ca. 1455].<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division, from the Lenox Library.<br><br><br />
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"Gentlemen, Please Remove Your Hats": The Gutenberg Bible

Adoration of the Magi; Voyage of the Magi; <i>Ecce Homo</i>, with donors Jacob Engbrechtsz and Margriet Gerritsdr (fol. xxxix verso).<br><br><br />
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Gradual of the Temporale for the Full Year (<i>Graduale de tempore tocius anni</i>). Illuminated manuscript on parchment; in Latin. Written by Leonard of Aachen (Leonardus de Aquisgrano); illuminated by Spierinck and three unidentified artists. Northern Netherlands (Haarlem), 1493-94.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division.<br><br><br />
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Brother Leonard of Aachen's Choir Book: A Netherlandish Gradual

While the Bay Psalm Book has the distinction of being the first book printed in the English colonies of North America, some have deplored the typographical errors of the first edition, and still others have criticized the unmetrical translations. But it cannot be denied that the Bay Psalm Book was a highly significant accomplishment, appearing in print fewer than twenty-five years after the landing of the Pilgrims at Plymouth.<br><br><br />
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<i>The Whole Booke of Psalmes, Faithfully Translated into English Metre</i>. [Cambridge, Mass.]: Imprinted [by Stephen Daye], 1640.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Rare Book Division, from the Lenox Library.<br><br><br />
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The Bay Psalm Book (1640): The First Book Printed in America

Tree of Jesse, accompanied by prophets and birds (fol. 6v). The typological connection between David and Christ was "proved" historically by the descent of Christ from David, a concept made visually manifest in the pictorial genealogy known as the "Tree of Jesse" (Jesse, the father of David).<br><br><br />
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Tickhill Psalter. Manuscript on parchment; in Latin. England, Worksop Priory, Nottinghamshire, after 1303-ca. 1314.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.<br><br><br />
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The Tickhill Psalter: A Glorious Example of English Gothic Art

Genesis I.<br><br><br />
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Xanten Bible. Manuscript on vellum; in Hebrew. Calligraphed by Joseph of Xanten. Germany (Lower Rhine), 1294.<br><br />
The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.<br><br><br />
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The Xanten Bible: A 13th-century Illuminated Hebrew Manuscript

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